Waking up
by You'llHaveToGuessIt
Summary: The second part of 'A note goodbye', which was intended as a stand-alone piece, but I just couldn't help myself. What did Lacey drink? All will be revealed! Sort of. This part makes what happened kinda obvious :D


At first, Belle didn't know where she was. Then it hit her, faster than a train or an ogre's club. The nausea hit her too, an undulating wave of dizziness. She clutched her stomach and stumbled forwards from the wall she had fallen against. Her hand hit the counter, and her fingers clutched at a piece of paper. After a few moments she could breathe again, and she opened her eyes to a world filled with reminders of old memories now new again. When she saw her hand she saw the cup, and she cradled it in her palms. But then she saw the note, and the realisation of what had happened brought her to her knees.

The paper, which she had swept off the counter as she fell, now rested in her palms in the place of her cup by her knee. She unfolded it, gently, and wept over the words. Lacey. Poor lost, confused Lacey. Thrust into a world that she didn't quite understand, with a responsibility she couldn't bare to handle. She had finally been forced to accept her pregnancy, or at least been forced to stop denying it, and deep down she knew that there was only one woman who could be the child's mother. And that woman was Belle. So she'd sacrificed her life to give Belle this second (or was it third? Met Rumple, cursed, found Rumple, cursed again, found herself...), sacrificed herself to give Belle this third chance at the life that kept being stolen from her. And the chance to raise her child. Her True Love's child.

She'd known it was what everyone had wanted, and in the end it had been what she had wanted too. Unable to hug her knees around her swollen stomach (a boy, a girl? Would he mind either way?), Belle settled for leaning back against the glass, tears dripping onto the ink on the page. Then she looked at her palm, the words her former self had written for only her eyes to see. '_I'm so sorry Belle. And good luck. I hope my sacrifice was worth this. I already think it was. Prove me right - L'._ Even cursed she was too damn stubborn to choose her own life over that of a stranger. She wept harder.

When her tears were spent, or when it felt like they were, Belle stumbled to her feet, the crumpled (soggy) note clenched in her fist. She walked dazedly to the door, feeling slightly drunk but thankful of the Blue Fairy's influence. She waited for the day's events to hit her with their full force, but she figured if anyone was likely to trigger that, it was Ruby. She locked the door, or thought she did and went back to check twice, and tried to walk in a straight line to the diner. She tripped over her own feet (and Lacey's ridiculous heels) and wondered what she would say. And what kind of reaction she would get. And when would Rumplestiltskin get back?

She'd been herself for five minutes (according to the clock tower, really about an hour and a half), and already she missed him.

She made it to the diner (which had a empush/em door), and stumbled in. Doctor Whale (Frankenstein?) stumbled straight out, and she heard a low curse from the Dwarves and Granny. Before she had chance to blink Red was before, worrying in her roundabout way. "Dammit Lacey, you left the Rabbit Hole barely two hours ago, and I'm pretty sure Blue said she was cutting off the alcohol from your system. How are you drunk already!?" Another blink and she was on a stool at the counter, slowly trying to clear her head. That potion definatley was _not_ supposed to be taken when pregnant. And damn Lacey had gulped down the whole bloody thing.

Belle had just pushed away from the counter to find Red (she was awake, she had to tell her) when her eyes alighted on more familiar faces. She lurched forwards to embrace an incredibly uncomfortable Phillip (in skinny jeans of all things), and give a shaky wave to Mulan who grabbed her arm as she fell. "Seriously Lacey, how are you drunk? Sit back down. No, down. Down." "No.. no..." Why was that all she could say? She wasn't Lacey. She had to tell them that. "My head hurts, Re-ed, owww..." That wasn't what she'd wanted to say in the slightest, and the attentive wolf hadn't even noticed the correct use of her name. Dammit.

But a hazy face moved back into her line of sight, since the counter was digging into her spine and she had a full view of the diner, and she propelled herself forwards into Neal (Baelfire!). "He... He's gonna be.. so happy... Happy that you're alive. Baelfiire. Rumple. So-o happy. Ow. So happy.. Hmm..." She sounded high, dammit. "Lacey..." A sigh. Why did everyone always sigh like they were disappointed? "No.. No, not Lacey. Belle. 'M Belle. My head hurts. Where's Rumplestiltskin..?"

When she came to she was on the floor, Dreamy and Tiny hauling her up by the arms. Granny was forcing water down her throat (and she was drowning, but she felt better already), and Phillip, Mulan and Aurora were watching worriedly from next to Baelfire. Red was biting her nails and shifting from foot to foot. As soon as she was upright, and the world tilted at the right angle, Red finally asked the right question. "Belle? Belle is that really you?" After a few moments silence Belle gave a tired nod, and the Dwarves behind her cheered, and the wolf before her (now latched around her neck) squealed with delight. "Thank the Gods Belle! We missed you so much, and we were so worried! If it wasn't for Blue, Lacey would have drunk you and your kid to death by now. Are you okay?" More questions followed, and a whole lot of (friendly) arm shaking too.

Eventually Belle handed Red the note, and turned to introduce herself (properly) to the town's resident giant. Instead of a handshake she received a bear hug, and a very confused 'Hello' from Phillip's Princess, who she greeted next. Then she turned to Baelfire, and she could see this was going to be a very long, very awkward conversation. Why did Lacey have to try and flirt with emeveryone/em? At least she never managed to sleep with anyone. That would have been an unmitigated disaster. But at least after the incident with the poor Sheriff of Nottingham (and Doctor Whalestein) everyone understood the Dark One's girl was off-limits.

Even so she was thankful when Red called her back again, forcing her to turn. "Belle, I don't understand. What is (she waved the paper in her hand) this?" "That (Belle looked up sadly) is Lacey's suicide note."


End file.
